Two days was not a long time, and I soon found myself slowly walking into the foyer of Lady Yancy's brothel only to see Lady Greencloak smiling. She quickly closed the distance, "Good, you're here early; we need to get you ready!"
I was surprised at the action, and she took me to a spot in the building I had not entered before, and we suddenly were in a new place. I could see outside a window where we were high in the dark city and in something I had not expected. A shopping area with people's wealth on showcase. This area was instantly Boushey, and there were different stores. This reminded me of the mall that I took to Victoria not too long ago. I could see people adorned in jewelry, and some were even looking rough, but the shops looked rich compared to what I had seen in this game so far.
Finally, I had an answer to a question that had been nagging at the back of my mind: Where were all the rich people in this city? The answer was as shocking as it was obvious. They were right here, looking down upon the poor in their Ivory towers. The separation was so stark it was hard to believe. The rich lived in luxury, oblivious to the squalor below. No wonder Lady Yancy was indifferent to the world beneath her feet. It was like asking an ant about its life.
That was why she cared so little about the cure. The Slums were not where she cared to use her resources. Such a petty amount of gold was like a billionaire picking up a dollar bill off the street. It was literally too much of a waste of time for the billionaire, as they would have made thousands of dollars just walking past it. I shivered because, in real life, I was actually a lot like these people. I lived in a tower looking down upon New York in luxury. I went to malls after renting the whole place to myself so that I could have the place to myself.
I had to admit that the correlation was true. Billionaires do not live around people who are poor or even middle class. I knew many people in the circle that the closest would be those who waited on them.
My mind was suddenly brought back to the present in the game as Lady Greencloak slapped my ass hard with a smile. "Come on, Elli, I have an appointment to have you decorated for the party tonight. You are going to look great, and everyone will enjoy it."
I shivered at her words as I realized that there was a lot to misinterpret there. It sounded like I was about to be used by a large group of people at this party. My asshole puckered, but I did not have much time to think as she used her arm to push me in a direction. We walked quickly, and the buildings here were unique. They were built almost like they were outside, if not for the lack of a sky. Some looked to be built of wood, and others were made of stone. The signs above them stated their purpose, and there was a very wide variety of skilled laborers there. Each had symbols by the name of their shop, and all shops had those symbols. Most common were crosses, but Shields was there, and many had stars but only one. It was code for something I realized, and I needed help understanding.
"What is that symbol by the names?" I asked curiously.
"Ah, you noticed the small symbols." Lady Greencloak smiled, "They are the skill of people working there. This is a Craftsmen shopping district. The little cross symbol is a Journeymen crafter, The Shield is a Senior, The star is a Master, and a shield with a Star is a Grandmaster. Then last but not least is a Crossed Shield with a star in front of it. That is a Guru-level crafter. There is something behind the symbolism, but I am not a crafter, and only the grand masters seem to understand the reason. But they tell you the skill you can find at the shop."
The explanations were precise and made a lot of sense, and I realized that I would have a shield next to our shop's sign. "So what are the benefits of having that symbol?" I asked her curiously.
"People like myself will seek services there. This is the most skilled area in the entire dark city. Notice that every shop at least has one shield?" She pointed out, and I noticed a bunch of crosses on the shop signs and shields and Stars on quite a few, if not almost all. "Here, people like myself look for the best gear, and this is where the best of the best gather in Dark City. To even be allowed to open a shop here, you need to be at least a senior in craftsmen ranking. Even then, with the number of Masters around, your shop will struggle. The crosses there are for people looking to save a little money or for something in their house. They are placed there so people know they can settle larger orders by having a lot of Journeymen working on it."
That made a ton of sense, and Lady Greencloak then pointed out a store: "That is the store that we are going to. I am paying top dollar for this party. You may keep the outfit if you do a good job tonight." Much to my surprise, the store looked plain, but the sign read, 'Bright Cloths,' and with it, there was a shield with a star at it. That, along with three crosses, meant one Grandmaster and three journeymen worked in this shop.
Lady Greencloak pushed me into the shop before I could think more about it. I gulped as I entered, wondering if I was about to meet a Grandmaster crafter. For some reason, I got nervous just thinking about it. Would I get really amazing clothing for this quest? Something that is way above my level?
I couldn't wait to find out.